1988 Starting Lineup Talking Baseball Mets Team Set

When I turned 13 in 1988, I think one of my birthday presents was the Starting Lineup Talking Baseball game.  The game was electronic and you could play the built-in teams or buy extra cartridges that had other teams.  The built-in teams were AL All-Stars and NL All-Stars, and there were cards of them; I've posted them before.  A cartridge would have three more teams, and I only had one cartridge, with the Phillies and Pirates, and the third team was the Mets.  I showed the Pirates once before too.  The All-Star teams had photos on the cards and the cards that came with the cartridges are drawings instead; not sure why.  Also, speaking of things I'm not sure about, I don't know why I have 25/20 of these cards.  For some reason I have two each of Roger McDowell, Jesse Orosco, Rafael Santana, Tim Teufel, and Mookie Wilson.

Bill Almon.

Wally Backman.

I won't have a lot to say about all these guys.  But I know both Bill Almon and Wally Backman from their days with other teams.  Almon was a Pirate before he was a Met, and then ended his career with the Phillies.  Backman also had some years with the Phillies, as they were working on their 1993 pennant run.  He left the Phils in 1992 though.

Gary Carter.

David Cone.

Here we have a couple more famous guys, in Gary Carter and David Cone.  Cone wasn't with the 1986 championship Mets but made up for it with 5 World Series wins after that.

Ron Darling.

Lenny Dykstra.

I always think the same thing when I think of Ron Darling.  I think it must have been before a World Series game, although it could have been for something else, the TV station was doing a Warren Zevon song parody in the pregame.  It was of "Werewolves of London."  The line about Ron Darling was, "I saw Ron Darling with a Chinese menu in his hand."  Lenny Dykstra doesn't need much further comment, I think.

Sid Fernandez.

Dwight Gooden.

According to the book "The Bad Guys Won" about the 1986 Mets season, Sid Fernandez is pretty dumb.  The book tells a story where he decides not to buy a house because he doesn't understand the concept of a mortgage.  Then there's Dwight Gooden.  Like Gary Carter above, those stars around him show that he was an All-Star.

Keith Hernandez.

Howard Johnson.

Keith Hernandez, of Seinfeld fame, and Howard Johnson, suspiciously powerful hitter.

Barry Lyons.

Dave Magadan.

I don't know anything to say about Barry Lyons.  Dave Magadan was well-known at the time for being a Future Star in the 1987 Topps set.

Lee Mazzilli.

Roger McDowell.

Roger McDowell is another who went on to the Phillies, as the closer before Mitch Williams showed up.  Mazzilli was one of the senior members of the 1986 Mets team, having debuted in the majors in 1976 in a first stint with the Mets.

Kevin McReynolds.

Jesse Orosco.

The worst of the '86 Mets were the "Scum Bunch," and Jesse Orosco was their leader.  I don't have much to say about Kevin McReynolds; he was with the Mets from '87-'91, and again to close out his career in '94.

Rafael Santana.

Darryl Strawberry.

Daryl Strawberry is also adorned with stars here, indicating that he was an All-Star.  Rafael Santana didn't have a long or storied career, and being with the '86 Mets seems like it's his career highlight.

Tim Teufel.

Mookie Wilson.

According to the book, Tim Teufel came to the Mets from the Twins.  The atmosphere in Minnesota was professional and supportive, and he had the shock of going from that to the crude and juvenile atmosphere of the Mets.  He was assimilated into the Mets' culture, being arrested after a bar fight in Houston on a road trip.  Mookie Wilson was an exception to the antics with those Mets; he later recorded a gospel album, for instance.

Thanks for reading!